By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    improving patient experience
    6 Ways to Improve Patient Satisfaction Within Hospitals
    December 1, 2021
    degree for healthcare job
    What Are The Health Benefits Of Having A Degree?
    March 9, 2022
    custom software development is changing healthcare
    Digital Customer Journey Mapping and its Importance for Healthcare
    July 21, 2022
    Latest News
    Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
    May 16, 2025
    Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
    May 16, 2025
    Choosing the Right Supplement Manufacturer for Your Brand
    May 1, 2025
    Engineering Temporary Hospitals for Extreme Weather
    April 24, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Can Thinking Younger Make You Live Longer?
    April 20, 2011
    Image
    Obesity’s Outlook Unchanged
    June 13, 2011
    When It’s An Emergency Elderly Not Treated As Well in Hospitals
    July 16, 2011
    Latest News
    Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
    May 18, 2025
    The Critical Role of Healthcare in Personal Injury Recovery: A Comprehensive Guide for Victims
    May 14, 2025
    The Backbone of Successful Trials: Clinical Data Management
    April 28, 2025
    Advancing Your Healthcare Career through Education and Specialization
    April 16, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Symposium’s Message to Doctors: Engage with Patients
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > eHealth > Mobile Health > Symposium’s Message to Doctors: Engage with Patients
eHealthMobile HealthTechnology

Symposium’s Message to Doctors: Engage with Patients

mHealth News Editorial Team
Last updated: November 4, 2013 8:00 am
mHealth News Editorial Team
Share
5 Min Read
mhealth and patient engagement
SHARE

mhealth and patient engagementmHealth is all about patient engagement these days, and nowhere was that point driven with more purpose than last week’s Connected Health Symposium. 

mhealth and patient engagementmHealth is all about patient engagement these days, and nowhere was that point driven with more purpose than last week’s Connected Health Symposium. 

The two-day conference, hosted by Partners HealthCare at Boston’s Seaport World Trade Center, featured a wide array of keynotes and panel discussions focused on “the powerful human desire to communicate,” according to Joseph Kvedar, MD, founder and director of Partners HealthCare’s Center for Connected Health and the conference’s host.

That communication could come in a wearable sensor that sends physiological data back to a doctor for real-time analysis, or a text messaging program that enables physicians to push important reminders back to a patient. It might be an app that enables a consumer to research the latest heath and wellness trends, or one that reminds a consumer to schedule an appointment or take medication.

More Read

Denmark: High Healthcare IT Competence and a Formidable Talent Pool
Global Size and Growth of Spine Surgery Market Segments
23andWho?
Person-Centered HealthCare: Connecting Homes and People to Improve Lives
Arun Menawat Discusses Novadaq Technologies, a Surgical Imaging Company

Central to that theme, said Kvedar, is the smartphone, which the average American uses 150 times a day to make a call, send or receive a message, check Facebook or Twitter or check something out online.

“That 150-times-a-day interaction is our opportunity,” he said.

With healthcare undergoing a radical revision in the wake of extensive waste in ineffectiveness, new technologies and platforms that reduce cost and improve clinical outcomes are coming to the forefront. Many of those advancements, said Kvedar, are coming in the digital health arena, which seeks to transform healthcare into 24-hour-a-day health maintenance, where consumers can access health information and connect with their providers at any time and in any location.

That’s giving providers more opportunities to connect with consumers and push targeted health information, but are they doing that the right way? “We have to figure out how to ask the right questions,” said Gary Gottlieb, MD, MBA, Partners HealthCare’s president and CEO, who kicked off the conference.

Donald Berwick, the former head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services who now serves as the Senior Fellow at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, compares the American healthcare system to a bridge that was built in the Honduras over a river that later changed course. While the nation’s healthcare system is focused on pay for performance and acute care, he said, the river beneath that bridge has shifted, and the population has changed its focus to health and wellness, chronic illnesses and end-of-life care.

The healthcare system, Berwick said, should instead “support people through the journeys of their lives,” rather than focusing only on when they’re sick.

One of those pressure points is the electronic health record, long a source of controversy in the healthcare world as providers struggle to adapt the EHR to their workflows and find some return on investment. Epic CEO Carl Dvorak said his company is seeing a shift in EHR use as providers learn to use the platform to connect with their patients through video visits, appointment scheduling apps and patient-entered data.

“The biggest thing that needs to be changed is accountability for the patient,” said Dvorak, who sees mHealth as a means of making the patient a more pivotal stakeholder in healthcare.

Another critical aspect of patient engagement is empathy. Joseph Cafazzo, PhD, of the University of Toronto’s Center for Global eHealth Innovation, said mHealth has long struggled to find that personal connection that convinces consumers to go along for the ride. Too many apps, devices and other tools, he said, are designed with the clinician in mind, rather than the user.

“We’ve lost something in the design of health technology. We’ve lost empathy,” he said. “Perhaps we never had it.”

Cafazzo, who designed the popular bant app for diabetic teens, said healthcare has to discover – or rediscover – that connection with the patient, and find a way to enhance that in mHealth.

As Kvedar pointed out earlier in the conference, “We need to make it personal again.”

Original Post

(mHealth / shutterstock)

Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Clinical Expertise
Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
Health care
May 18, 2025
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Health
May 15, 2025
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Health
May 15, 2025
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction heart treatment
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction
Cardiology
May 13, 2025

You Might also Like

New Concussion Sensors, Apps Help Without Solving Key Diagnostic Issues

October 7, 2013

How the Stories of Our Lives Can Change Healthcare

December 20, 2012
healthcare software
Technology

The Role of Healthcare Software Development in Modern Medicine

January 30, 2024
29 Company Map
DiagnosticseBookeHealthHome HealthWellness

Tech and Precision Medicine: 29 Companies Who Will Lead the Charge

January 22, 2016
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?